Frame structure for electrical chassis with removable wiring channels

ABSTRACT

A bearing structure for telecommunication equipments, consisting of a frame for bearing the wirings and the drawers containing the functional units, comprising the first housing for the power and the servicing wirings and a second housing for the coaxial cables. These housings are provided with connectors which are removably coupled to counterpieces provided in the frame, and the drawers have fixed thereto means operated by a screw for coupling the connectors of the first housing with their conjugate counterpieces.

United States Patent Leone et al.

FRAME STRUCTURE FOR ELECTRICAL CHASSIS WITH REMOVABLE WIRING CHANNELS Inventors: Girolamo Leone, Via Baracca 17; Giulio Vignola, Via Bassi 17, both of Monza, Italy Filed: Aug. 21, 1970 Appl. No.: 66,042

15] 3,657,608 1 Apr. 18, 1972 156] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,188,524 6/1965 Williams ..317/101 DH 3,394,287 7/1968 Titzmann ..3l7/l01 CB X 3,360,689 12/1967 Haury ..3l7/10l DH 3,375,406 3/1968 Alden ,.317/122 X Primary Examiner-Laramie E. Askin Assistant Examiner-Gerald P. Tolin Attorney-Clario Ceccon [5 7] ABSTRACT 10 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures Foreign Application Priority Date I Aug. 23, 1969 Italy ..53092 A/69 U.S. Cl. ..317/l18, 317/101 CB, 317/122 Int. Cl. ..1102b 1/04 FieldotSeareh ..3l7/101CB,101 D1-1,117,118, 317/120, 122

PATENTEDAPR 18 I972 SHEET 1 (1F 6 FIG. 3

PATENTEBAPR 18 I972 sum 2 [1F 6 [flu FIG. 6

FIGS

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PATENTEDAPR 18 1972 SHEET 8 [IF 6 a well conducting h v Pushing. greatest safety vided preferably with an insert group, a resiliently closed FRAME STRUCTURE FOR ELECTRICAL CHASSIS WITH REMOVABLEWIRING. CHANNELS used, generally 600mm wide, aptto housetwo receiving and transmitting groups; very often only one group was first m ounted, so that thespa'ce wasbadly used,. while difficulties arose in carrying outthe connections when afterwards the in- -stallationv was tobe completed by mounting the Second group.

Q Moreover, the wirings had to be-carried out on the frame itself in not favorable conditions and,with low effectiveness. It is an, objectv of the invention to provide a bearing structure ,with constituent. elements arranged so as. to house a single receiving transmittinggroup, so as to obviate-the aforesaid disadvantages.

' More particularly the structure according to the invention has a bearing portion andtwo additional portionsintendedto house thewirings, that is:

a. a first raceway or housing containing the power supply and services cables, said. raceway being removable'and having cover andawiring carried out on a bench, that is, outof the metal structure;

b. a second raceway or housing also removable containing the coaxial cables for connection to the installation; also this wiring is carried out on a benchand not on the frame;

, c. connectors placed on the first raceway, in which connectors-the-gcounterpieces coupled to each functional unit are to be inserted by mechanical means .(andnot by hand, i.e. pressure, means).

In a known manner the radio-link installations are divided in units each-corresponding to a certain function (such as power supply, receiving, transmitting, etc. According to the known technique, besides the use of welded connections,.the use of connectors hasbeen proposed, the coupling of the two parts of the connectors being made when the unit is assembled on the bearing structure, or. by means of screw extracting devices directly applied on the connector.

On the, contrary according to the invention the drawers of.

the functional units have fixedthereondevices by which the coupling of the two connectors is no longer carried out by and, accuracy, said drawers being further procover anda tilting cross-bar.

Accordingto a preferred embodiment, the tilting cross-bar consists ,of a tilting drawn bar whose section hasa rectangular groove and whichhas a tongue to .whicha rotation shaft is fixed, mounted on a little block solidly tothe structure of the functional unit: a return spring is mounted on the same axis of the pivot- The tongue is provided with a projecting portion which engages either of two notches in the block.

The tilting plate is provided .with a backing perpendicular to its length, against. which a compression spring acts, whose other side. is opposed by said block.,

This opposition aims to keep the projecting portion in either of the notches wherein it has been put. The same arrangement of projectihg portion and notch is present at both the ends, but only one spring is sufficient.

but by'screws, progressively and with the,

The insert group is contained in a parallelepiped metal box,

at least one of whose faces can be opened as a cover. The front portion isformed bythe sheet metal structure of the box: thus the heat produced by the components therein is more easily removed. The cover is provided with a seal for radiofrequencies, formed bya strip of conductingresilient material shaped with teeth.

Two spring v leaves hearing at one end a plunger and a bevelledtooth are placed on the body of the box, and within it, on two opposite sidesand near one end. The plunger and the tooth pass throughan opening in the side wall of thebox. In correspondence withthe tooth thecover has a hole which the tooth can engage.

removing the insert groups, which consists of a rod hearing at one end a cross piece, preferably tilting so as to take up less room, and having at the other end a thinning followed by a thickening of substantially rectangular section, which can engage the insert of. the groups thus allowing to remove them from the frame. i

Theinvention, together with other features, characteristics and advantages, will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a frame according to the invention in a preferred embodiment givenas an example,

FIG. 2' is a side view of the frame;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the frame;

FIG. 5 isa perspective view of the raceway ofthecoaxial cables;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the raceway of the power supply and services cables;

FIG. 7 is aperspective view of a detail;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a functional unit;

FIG. 9 is a side view of FIG. 8, in enlarged scale;

. 30 FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the fastener of the tilting plate;

FIG. 11 shows the device for extracting the insert groups;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the insert group;

FIG. 13 is a section of adetail thereof;

FIG. 14 is a section of another detail thereof;

FIG. 15' is a view from above of the same detail shown in FIG. 14.

Referringnow to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the mechanical structure according to the invention,

in the preferred embodiment therein shown, consists of a base 31 bearing two uprights 32 joined at the back by horizontal intermediate and top cross-bars, not shown in the figures; functional units 33 having the same width and different height according to their functions, are placed in the rectangles defined by uprights and cross-bars; some of these units are made by insert groups in'a known manner.

A- vertical raceway 1, having for instance a shaped section andintended for receiving the power supply and services cables, rests upon the base 31; said raceway is shown with more detailsin-FIG. 6.

Another raceway 2, similar to the raceway 1 and intended for receivingthe coaxial cables, also rests upon the base 31, and is shown in FIGS. 1-5. It must be observed that the raceway 2 is shown fastened to the raceway l in FIG. 2, whereas in FIG. 3 the raceways are shown separated.

According to a feature of the invention both said housings or raceways l and 2 can be removed from the frame, so that their respective wirings are carried out on the bench, i.e. out of the frame, and then in the more effective operating conditions.

The structure according to the invention is shown in FIG. 4 without the functional units, so as to show the shelves 7 bearing said units. One of the conjugate parts of the connector 6 is mounted'on said shelves for connection to the functional unit. The services raceway I, mounted on one side wall of the frame, is shown always in FIG. 4. The same raceway, or a similar one, can be mounted on the rear wall of the frame, as shown by the dotted line 1'. Also the raceway 2 for'the coaxial cables is shown. The two raceways are better shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 respectively, wherein also the coaxial-cables 34, the corresponding connectors 3 and connectors 6 are shown.

According to a feature of the invention the raceway l is provided with a cover 35 of conducting material, which form the ground for the whole installation.

This cover has openings 36 through which the power cables 37 pass.

Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown the functional unit 33 together with the raceway 2 for the coaxial cable 34. Also the connectors 3 are shown together, with the bridges 4 which realize the electrical connection between the cables in the raceway and the functional unit.

A functional unit 33 with the connector 3, the coaxial cable 34 and the connector 5 of the functional unit is shown in FIG.

A device (FIG. 9), comprising the members 8, 9, 10, 11, is mounted on one side wall of the functional unit for coupling the two parts 5, 6 of the connector of the functional unit and for fastening said unit to the frame.

The device consists of a shaped side plate, provided with three openings 37, in form of long slots which can be entered by the stem of a pin 9 fastened to the side wall 10 of the unit.

Preferably one of these slots is placed in'correspondence with the symmetry axis of the connector. The same plate 8 is provided with a tongue 38 pierced by a threaded hole which a screw 11 passing through the hole 39 in the front portion of the side wall of the unit'can engage. Said coupling device can be provided only on one side wall'of the unit or on both the side walls.

Always referring to FIG. 8, there is shown the guide 13 for inserting an insert group, the connector 28 for connecting the insert group to the wiring of the functional unit, and a tilting plate 14 fastened on the front portion of the side walls of the functional unit.

Said tilting plate 14, as is shown in FIG. 10, consists of a draw rod whose section has a rectangular groove bearing a tongue provided with a hole on which a rotation axis 18 hinges, said axis being mounted on a block 16 in turn fastened to the front portion of the side wall 10 of the functional unit. A spring 17 surrounds the axis of the pin.

The tilting plate 14 is provided with a second tongue 19, placed at the other side of the block 16 and provided with a projection which can enter either of two notches 40 in the block 16.

FIG. 11 shows the extracting device, consisting in a stem 20 which has a tilting cross piece at one end, and a rectangular head 42 near which the stem narrows, at the other end.

This extracting device, when not used, is placed in the rectangular groove of the tilting plate 14, and is kept in its place by magnetization.

FIG. 12 shows an insert group, consisting in a parallelepipedal metal box 41, wherein the circuits are placed. The box is provided with at least one removable cover 21, having an edge which engages in a groove of the box, while the remaining three edges lie upon the corresponding sides of the box.

Seals 27 for high frequency, each consisting of a strip of resilient conducting material shaped so as to have a toothed edge, are applied along the edges of the cover.

Two spring leaves 23, bearing near one end a plunger 26 and a bevelled tooth 24, are placed on the body of the box 41 and in the interior thereof, on two opposite sides and near one end. The plunger and a tooth pass through an opening in the side wall of the box. The cover 21 is provided with a hole 25 in correspondence with the tooth 24, which hole can be engaged by the tooth.

An insert of insulating material, provided with a central hollow aperture to be entered by the head 42 of the extracting device, is inserted in an appropriate opening in the front portion of the insert group (see FIG. 13).

FIGS. 14 and 15 show with more details the tooth 24 and the plunger 26.

It is clear from the above description that the structure according to the invention comprises a bearing portion and two parts apt to house the wirings.

The first housing is intended for the supply and services cables, and is in form of a raceway l, for instance of C-shaped section, made of conducting material, for instance copper,

or on the rear of the frame, and can be removed from it, so

i that its wiring can be realized on the bench and not in its position within the frame.

The second housing is still another raceway 2 for. bearing the coaxial cables. It is placed on one side of the frame, and

can be removed, also when the frame is assembled, by merely disconnecting all connections at each end of the coaxial cables, without need to disassemble the functional units. Each cable in this raceway is provided at each end with panel connectors 3. Thus, when the installation is assembled, all coaxial cables of the installation are connected to the upper end of the raceway. The connection between the coaxial cable and the functional unit is realized by a rigid or flexible bridge connector 4 which connects the coaxial connector on the front wall of the raceway and the corresponding connector on the front wall of the functional unit.

The functional unit consists of a frame structure bearing on any face, except the front one, the male or female part 5 of the unit connector; the conjugate female (or male) part 6 is placed on the bearing of the unit, usually a shelf 7.

The functional unit consists of four connected frame members and two side walls 10, whereon the power supply and services connectors and the coaxial cable connectors are placed. The coupling of the two conjugate parts of the power and services connector must be realized after the unit has been completely put in place by means of sliding guides. The device for coupling the connector is arranged so as to be operated from outside and on the front portion. It consists in a shaped plate 8, to which the male (or female) connector 5 is fastened, and which moves horizontally guided by slots sliding upon fixed pins 9 on the side wall 10, because of the pushing or extracting action of a screw 11 whose nut is placed on the shelf bearing the fixed part of the connector; the unit is definitively locked by locking the same screw 11 and another screw 12 symmetrically placed on the other side wall of the unit.

The insert groups forming the units are inserted by sliding upon guides 13; the groups are prevented from casually coming out by a tilting plate 14 which in closed position covers the lower (or the upper) front part of the group and press against an insert 15. The tilting plate is opened and/or closed by a translation from the right to the left followed by a rotation through both these movements being obtained by hand pushing the right end of the tilting plate.

The means for moving the tilting plate comprise a shaped block 16 fastened to the front portion of the side wall, a spring 17 surrounding the axis of a pin 18 which forms the axis of the rotation allowing the shifting caused by the spring. The open and closed position are defined by a projection 19 which engages in either of two notches in the shaped block.

The insert groups are inserted by hand pushing and are removed by means of a device 20 whose end is shaped. By inserting this end in the central hollow of the insert, rotating the device through 90 around its main axis, and pulling, the shaped end of the device is caused to contrast against the inner face of the group thus causing it to come out.

During this step of the work the shape of the device doesnt exert any pressure against the insert.

The extracting device is placed in the inner groove of the tilting plate and is held in place by magnetization. The insert is fixed on the front portion of the group by pressure, this being allowed by the resilience of the material.

The group (FIG. 12) consists of a metal envelope similar to a box and provided with one or two covers for giving access to the components. The front wall 22 is formed by one face of the box; this fact results in a simplified construction and a lower thennal resistance between the components and the outer space. The covers are opened, closed and locked by means of a spring 23, fixed to the interior of the box and provided with a tooth 24 which, engaging a hole 25 in the cover, acts as a stop; the spring, when flexed by hand pressing a projecting plunger 26 solidly to the spring, disengages the tooth from the hole, thus releasing the cover which rises upwards because of the contrasting force exerted by the springs of the seal for radiofrequency 27, solidly to the cover itself.

The connecting means for the services, the filters of the power supply and thecoaxial connectors are placed on the back face parallel to the front wall.

For a better understanding, the invention has been disclosed in connection to the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings: these embodiments are susceptible of changes which, being within the reach of those skilled in the art, are to be considered within the range of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A structure for supporting and electrically interconnecting a plurality of electric chassis units comprising,

a frame assembly including a base, at least one vertical upright and a plurality of support means spaced along said at least one upright;

a first vertical channel removably coupled to said at least one upright for containing wires and having a first plurality of terminals extending therefrom, said first terminals coupled to said support means, said first channel being constructed of a conducting material;

a second vertical channel removably coupled to said at least one upright for containing wires and having a second plurality of terminals extending therefrom aligned adjacent to said support means;

chassis frame container means placed on said support means;

coupling means slidably connected to said chassis frame container means and including a terminal connector axially aligned with one of said first plurality of terminals to slidably connect thereto, and

means for sliding said coupling means to effect such connection.

2. A structure as in claim 1 wherein said at least one vertical upright forms a side of said structure and said first and second channels are spaced from each other.

3. A structure as in claim 1 wherein said chassis frame container means comprises at least one side wall containing a plurality of pins extending therefrom, and a front member abutting said side wall and containing a threaded hole therein;

said means for sliding being a screw for insertion in said threaded hole, and

said coupling means further comprises a plate having a plurality of elongated holes slidably engaging said pins and a lip adjacent said front member and securely connected to said screw whereby, when said screw is rotated within said threaded hole said plate slides in a path guided by said pins.

4. A structure as in claim 3 and wherein said support means contains extension abutting said lip and including a threaded hole therein such that when said screw is fully inserted said chassis frame container means is firmly connected to said support means.

5. A structure as in claim 1 and wherein said chassis frame container means comprises tilt-bar means extending transverse the front thereof for retaining the chassis in said chassis frame container means.

6. A structure as in claim 5 wherein said chassis frame container means includes holding means extending from the front thereof and having a plurality of recesses therein and wherein said tilt-bar means further comprises a horizontal bar hinged to the front of said chassis frame container means, tongue means extending from said bar and capable of engaging each of said recesses by pre-setting and spring means for retaining said tongue means in engagement with the preset recess.

7. A structure as in claim 1 and wherein said containers further comprise component enclosure means removably coupled within said containers.

8. A structure as in claim 7 and wherein said component enclosure means further comprises side members, a deformable front portion, at least one cover hingeably attached to one of sald side members, closing means for retaining said cover in a closed position, and radiofrequency sealing means attached to the inside of said side members.

9. A structure as in claim 7 and wherein said enclosure means further comprises a front portion including an aperture adapted to hold an extracting device when slidably removing said enclosure from said container.

10. A structure as in claim 1 and wherein said chassis frame container means includes further terminal connectors adjacent one of the said second plurality of terminals, and means to interconnect said further terminal connectors with said last mentioned terminals. 

1. A structure for supporting and electrically interconnecting a plurality of electric chassis units comprising, a frame assembly including a base, at least one vertical upright and a plurality of support means spaced along said at least one upright; a first vertical channel removably coupled to said at least one upright for containing wires and having a first plurality of terminals extending therefrom, said first terminals coupled to said support means, said first channel being constructed of a conducting material; a second vertical channel removably coupled to said at least one upright for containing wires and having a second plurality of terminals extending therefrom aligned adjacent to said support means; chassis frame container means placed on said support means; coupling means slidably connected to said chassis frame container means and including a terminal connector axially aligned with one of said first plurality of terminals to slidably connect thereto, and means for sliding said coupling means to effect such connection.
 2. A structure as in claim 1 wherein said at least one vertical upright forms a side of said structure and said first and second channels are spaced from each other.
 3. A structure as in claim 1 wherein said chassis frame container means comprises at least one side wall containing a plurality of pins extending therefrom, and a front member abutting said side wall and containing a threaded hole therein; said means for sliding being a screw for insertion in said threaded hole, and said coupling means further comprises a plate having a plurality of elongated holes slidably engaging said pins and a lip adjacent said front member and securely connected to said screw whereby, when said screw is rotated within said threaded hole said plate slides in a path guided by said pins.
 4. A structure as in claim 3 and wherein said support means contains extension abutting said lip and including a threaded hole therein such that when said screw is fully inserted said chassis frame container means is firmly conNected to said support means.
 5. A structure as in claim 1 and wherein said chassis frame container means comprises tilt-bar means extending transverse the front thereof for retaining the chassis in said chassis frame container means.
 6. A structure as in claim 5 wherein said chassis frame container means includes holding means extending from the front thereof and having a plurality of recesses therein and wherein said tilt-bar means further comprises a horizontal bar hinged to the front of said chassis frame container means, tongue means extending from said bar and capable of engaging each of said recesses by pre-setting and spring means for retaining said tongue means in engagement with the preset recess.
 7. A structure as in claim 1 and wherein said containers further comprise component enclosure means removably coupled within said containers.
 8. A structure as in claim 7 and wherein said component enclosure means further comprises side members, a deformable front portion, at least one cover hingeably attached to one of said side members, closing means for retaining said cover in a closed position, and radiofrequency sealing means attached to the inside of said side members.
 9. A structure as in claim 7 and wherein said enclosure means further comprises a front portion including an aperture adapted to hold an extracting device when slidably removing said enclosure from said container.
 10. A structure as in claim 1 and wherein said chassis frame container means includes further terminal connectors adjacent one of the said second plurality of terminals, and means to interconnect said further terminal connectors with said last mentioned terminals. 